An educational standard is how much we expect from our educational system, and our children as a whole. It's the ability to understand our limitations as a "whole", not just the students learning but the ability of the teacher to teach. At some point, while planning the lesson plan, we decide at what point we must meet and decline expectations. It is not only what we expect ourselves and our students, but what the government expects. We live in an ultra-competitive world educationally, where several countries are always competing for grand-supremacy. We hold international contests where each country can send their brightest stars, looking to prove that they are better than the rest. In conclusion, the description of a standard is all of this combined. Simply put, its the combination of what we expect from ourselves, what the government expects from us, and what the international community expects from our government, and of course the kids.